[MHG]

Originally Posted by msdivy

My recent rides in Bangalore:
1) UberX, Distance: 9.92, Time: 01:02:02
Base Fare 40
Distance 79.36
Time 62.03
Normal Fare ₹ 181.39
Surge x1.4 72.56
Subtotal ₹ 253.95 (This was at 3PM)
Note: Even after surge pricing, UberX was cheaper than UberGo

2) UberX, Distance: 10.51, Time: 00:52:35
Base Fare 40
Distance 84.08
Time 52.58
Subtotal ₹ 176.66 (This was at 10PM)

About the bit in bold - do you mean UberX had a lower surge pricing ratio than UberGo ?

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by MHG

About the bit in bold - do you mean UberX had a lower surge pricing ratio than UberGo ?

Yes. UberX surge was 1.4X while UberGo surge was 2.0X and rate per Km was more for UberGo.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Originally Posted by MHG

About the bit in bold - do you mean UberX had a lower surge pricing ratio than UberGo ?

Happens many times when there is surge on 'GO' but none on 'X'. And then obviously the X turns out cheaper than 'GO'. Same thing happens between X and SUV also where SUV turns out cheaper.

[Rajeevraj]

Interesting experience with uber today. Took an uber black from hosur road to belandur. 1.4x surge pricing was in effect. Couple of min after I got down, I realized that I had not got the trip complete notification. Initially thought it was maybe some network delay. But after almost 15 min also my app was showing trip on progress and showed the cab almost 4km away. I called the driver and asked why the trip is showing not complete. He gave an excuse that he had a problem with the app and was currently at belandur only ( which was not true). Couple of min after that I saw the trip marked complete but with destination at silk board ( around 5 km and 20 min beyond my actual drop). Was billed ~rs 400. I immediately sent a review fare feedback. Got a response within 10 min asking for some more details. And 15 min post that got an email that fare head been adjusted and Rs 245 has been credited back. So that was a pretty quick response.

I don't use uber to much for myself. Typically what is the process. Do we wait till the driver marks trip complete and ensure we get the confirmation before alighting?. Had not given much thought to this as with the other cabs, you typically pay at the end of the trip and do not rely on the prepaid methods.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I don't use uber to much for myself. Typically what is the process. Do we wait till the driver marks trip complete and ensure we get the confirmation before alighting?. Had not given much thought to this as with the other cabs, you typically pay at the end of the trip and do not rely on the prepaid methods.

If I'm in a hurry I don't bother else I ask the driver when alighting if he has ended the trip.

My dad has had this problem twice in which the driver did not end the trip and drove for few extra kms. Both times they adjusted the fare within mins.

Yesterday one driver missed my pickup point and drove further ahead. When my dad asked him to come back he said U-turn is too far. My dad told him he cant walk due to a bad knee he said, he cant turn back cause it will be 1km extra for him. My dad told him to cancel the trip but instead this driver tried to be smart and started the trip and ended in 5mins as a result my dad got charged minimum 75 bucks. Dad blasted the driver and then send a nasty feedback. They refunded the 75 bucks within 30mins.

The customer response has been incredibly fast these days.

[Rajeevraj]

Took an UberX to office today. Was surprised to see an Xcent turn up. I did not know that xcent was sold as a yellow board. Chatted with the driver on it. Apparently not many people know and even he did not know. He had booked and Etios (to replace an Etios) and they delayed delivery. During that period he happened to see a yellow board xcent and followed it. The KR Puram Hyundai dealer is the only one that sells Xcent with yellow board it seems and there are only 5-6 running in Bangalore (as per what he said).

Was also curious as to why he replaced the Etios (after 2 years). His main point was that in Bangalore in lot of cases he needs to go into narrow lanes and roads and was finding it cumbersome with the Etios. The Xcent being smaller was a better option. He also gets more nice to have features with the Xcent.

It was my first ride in an Xcent and it felt quite comfortable and spacious.

[msdivy]

Uber got up and finally smelled the coffee - Uber to accept cash payments

Taxi aggregator Uber will accept cash payments in Hyderabad to gain customers and catch up with larger rival Ola in India, where the success of the now fast-growing ecommerce industry hinged on the cash-on-delivery model.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Uber got up and finally smelled the coffee - Uber to accept cash payments

This is bad imo. It's going backwards.

Uber's USP was cashless payments. The ease for the passenger and driver was there is no cash involved. You don't struggle for change and there's no argument over the fare.

Going back to cash is silly. The technology was the biggest advantage Uber had over autos and other cab aggregators.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is bad imo. It's going backwards.

If its merely adding a cash option I don't see the harm. If they're moving to only cash based then there's a point. But I would assume its only the former not the latter.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is bad imo. It's going backwards.

Uber's USP was cashless payments. The ease for the passenger and driver was there is no cash involved. You don't struggle for change and there's no argument over the fare.

Going back to cash is silly. The technology was the biggest advantage Uber had over autos and other cab aggregators.

Personally I agree. The cashless concept is one of the reasons I look for an Uber first. But 2 challenges I noticed recently

1. It requires an additional step of tech awareness to create a Paytm account and link it to the Uber account. The whole prepaid wallet thing is not yet something that the majority of the population understands. I took an Uber with a relative recently and he was keen to pay for it at the end of the journey, took some time to understand that was not an option and everything happens 'up there in the cloud'.

2. Yesterday when I was about to book, I remembered that my Paytm balance was low. But what happens if I forget the balance and book a trip (Uber says that you need to have a minimum Rs 200 to book a trip). What happens if my trip exceeds Rs 200?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Axe77

If its merely adding a cash option I don't see the harm. If they're moving to only cash based then there's a point. But I would assume its only the former not the latter.

Even having it as an option is counter productive. If you have the technology why even go backwards and give the option of cash. This only dilutes the bran even further.

Introducing the Uber auto in Delhi and now this is diluting the Uber brand in my opinion. They should have continued to push the technology. That is the right way forward.

For a small increase in customer base, this is a step backwards.

Uber drivers in Bangalore were very happy because of cashless facility. The drivers say they dont need to fight with customers for change or haggle on the fare. One driver told me that he was driving for Ola and he got customers who used to negotiate on the fare.

With Uber the customers are more tech savvy and educated as to how it works so he doesn't have the tension of fighting with passengers.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

2. Yesterday when I was about to book, I remembered that my Paytm balance was low. But what happens if I forget the balance and book a trip (Uber says that you need to have a minimum Rs 200 to book a trip). What happens if my trip exceeds Rs 200?

If you have balance below 200, it won't let you book a cab till you add funds.

If you have balance of 200 and you take a trip of 400, nothing happens. Uber simply doesn't charge you for that trip till you add funds. You can't book a cab after that till you load funds to clear the pending payment. System works flawlessly.

[Prash22]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is bad imo. It's going backwards.

Although Uber operations are currently limited to Tier 1 and a few Tier 2 ciies IMO it makes sense to have a cash transaction option to be relevant and be competitive in Indian market. It could also be an advent to expand their operations in other cities/towns.

Although there's a significant rise in the credit/debit card holders(not users) in the country especially after the recent drive to have bank acocunts opened for all there's still a section of people who prefer to transact cash. If Uber can build enough publicity on the cash transactions, they can woo an additional customer base who don't take cabs now.

[FanaticOnWheels]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Even having it as an option is counter productive. If you have the technology why even go backwards and give the option of cash. This only dilutes the bran even further.

Introducing the Uber auto in Delhi and now this is diluting the Uber brand in my opinion. They should have continued to push the technology. That is the right way forward.

For a small increase in customer base, this is a step backwards.

Uber drivers in Bangalore were very happy because of cashless facility. The drivers say they dont need to fight with customers for change or haggle on the fare. One driver told me that he was driving for Ola and he got customers who used to negotiate on the fare.

With Uber the customers are more tech savvy and educated as to how it works so he doesn't have the tension of fighting with passengers.



If you have balance below 200, it won't let you book a cab till you add funds.

If you have balance of 200 and you take a trip of 400, nothing happens. Uber simply doesn't charge you for that trip till you add funds. You can't book a cab after that till you load funds to clear the pending payment. System works flawlessly.

That happened to me once, wherein my wallet balance was ~400/-, and I was riding with a friend. My friend wanted to be dropped off as well, so after getting down at my destination, I asked the cab to drop him off. The bill came to 550/- odd, which I knew only the next day (the receipt wasn't loading up on the app). I immediately refilled my wallet by 500/-, and the pending charges were debited.

However, I wasn't allowed to book a cab post that on Uber. Got a message saying "Please try a different payment service". Shot a mail to their Pune customer care, didn't get a reply. Then shot a mail to their global customer care, and they replied asking for my photo ID proof. Sent them the entire explanation, and a scanned copy of my photo ID, and then they set my account right, along with an apology mail.

Do be wary of spending more than how much money you have in your wallet, cause I was a regular user of Uber, and don't really understand when they decide to do this.

[aditya101]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is bad imo. It's going backwards.

Uber's USP was cashless payments. The ease for the passenger and driver was there is no cash involved. You don't struggle for change and there's no argument over the fare.

Going back to cash is silly. The technology was the biggest advantage Uber had over autos and other cab aggregators.

Cash provides the "trust" factor. Customers know that their cabbies cannot take them for a ride [ ] when it comes to bill settlement. The few stories shared above are a testament.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Uber's USP was cashless payments.

Everybody else has cashless option now. What is the USP then for Uber? They have failed to provide a convenient way of paying with 2 factor authentication with cards. So cash is the last resort for them.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The customer response has been incredibly fast these days.

Originally Posted by FanaticOnWheels

Shot a mail to their Pune customer care, didn't get a reply. Then shot a mail to their global customer care, and they replied asking for my photo ID proof. Sent them the entire explanation, and a scanned copy of my photo ID, and then they set my account right, along with an apology mail.

It is strange that a technology company has to fallback to manual intervention for normal usage scenarios. Since they are small, they can handle the number of customers. What when they grow? Will customer face same problems and get same level of response?